Three said injured in power plant accidents
Three said injured in power plant accidents
JAKARTA (JP): Two non-governmental organizations yesterday
urged the East Java government to take safety measures at a power
transmitter in Gresik following a recent series of explosions
that injured three people.
The Indonesian Center for Environmental Law and the Surabaya
chapter of the Legal Aid Institute have urged "immediate action"
to prevent similar incidents occurring in the highly
controversial power project.
They were referring to the 500 kilovolt extra-high-voltage
electricity transmitter project, began in 1992, which has
hundreds of residents living in fear.
Earlier this year 92 Singosari residents sued the government
and the state electricity company for erecting high-voltage
cables above their houses, demanding more than Rp 4 billion (US$2
million) in compensation. The case is still before the Central
Jakarta District Court.
The Legal Aid Institute's headquarters in Jakarta wrote to
President Soeharto, the National Human Rights Commission and the
State Minister of Environment last week to express their concern
for residents' safety following the explosions.
The non-governmental organizations said the first five
explosions were heard on Nov. 11 and another two, six days later.
"The explosions were so loud they could be heard 2.5
kilometers away and were accompanied by a flash of lighting,
which reached the ground where the people ... live," Indro
Sugianto, director of Legal Aid Surabaya, said.
Three people were injured and hundreds others traumatized by
the incident, he said.
Sugianto said the state electricity company has ignored
repeated appeals and warnings from the residents concerning the
hazardous project. He urged the government to take firm action
against the company for causing unrest.
Director of the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law Mas
Achmad Santosa said he fully supported the Legal Aid Institute.
Concrete measures should be taken to prevent similar accidents
from happening again, he said.
The Legal Aid Institute also called on the government to
relocate residents from the area.
Santosa called for the formation of an independent team to
investigate the explosions and its effects to the environment.
"The center for environmental law and other non-government
organizations are able to bring in experts from overseas who are
competent in this field and can be independent researchers," he
said.(sim)